A woman from Gokwe who sold her baby two days after giving birth has been jailed for 10 years.
As reported by H-Metro, Pauline Maganga (23) was found guilty of human trafficking by Harare regional magistrate Lazini Ncube who ruled that there were no special circumstances to consider. Said the magistrate:
The victim is a child in this case and the offender is a parent. The offence was committed in aggravating circumstances and there were no special circumstances to consider.
She had the duty to keep and protect this child but she chose to commodify the child for the purpose of trafficking.
In this modern world, no person should be sold. We have passed the slave trade era. She should have given up the child for adoption in a legal manner if she was really poor.
There were prior plans to commit the crime as there was prior communication before she had even given birth so she knew what she was doing, even joining the WhatsApp group that connected her to the buyer shows that this was a premeditated crime.
The court has no choice but to impose the mandatory sentence of 10 years.
Prosecuting, Tendai Tapi said in May 2023, Maganga, who was pregnant, in South Africa, met Janet Marimo, through a WhatsApp group.
The two women reached an agreement that Maganga was to sell her baby for R25 000.
On June 24, 2024, Maganga gave birth at Far East Rand Hospital, Krugersrus Springs, Johannesburg, South Africa and she informed Marimo, through their usual WhatsApp communication.
Two days later, Marimo traveled from Port Elizabeth and was handed the baby and its clinic card.
Maganga received part of the payment and the two agreed to feed the baby as Marimo waited for the baby’s birth record.
She, however, failed to obtain the birth record.
On July 4, Marimo left Johannesburg for Port Elizabeth, with the baby and booked the bus using Maganga’s name, to avoid being intercepted by the police.
The two women remained in touch as they needed the birth record for the baby by October 29 to process travel documents as the child was meant to be taken to Australia.
After failing to secure the baby’s documents, Marimo smuggled the baby to Zimbabwe.
She was arrested in Waterfalls, Harare, on November 27 following a tip-off.
After hearing of Marimo’s arrest, Maganga traveled to Zimbabwe on December 12 to claim her child.
Investigations revealed that she had declared her child dead a few days after delivery.
A DNA test was conducted and proved that she was the child’s biological mother leading to her arrest.
